In Waves

That album ["In Colour"] is great, but nearly nine years later, "In Waves" takes its template and turns it into something truly next level.

In Waves sounds like the music Jamie xx needed to make at this point in his career -- its love letter to the communal healing power of dance music is often more purposeful, and more satisfying, than his instant-classic debut.

For those seeking solace, joy, or pure emotional catharsis, Jamie xx has delivered a masterpiece that will linger long after the last beat fades.

The end of In Waves is bound to divide listeners who will cotton to the connection between dancing and the simple joys children experience, and those who will (especially on the second listen) tire of the rote positivity, like a yoga instructor whose constant instructions to breathe are detracting from the breathing. Regardless, as pieces of a whole they fit the restorative nature of In Waves. Jaime xx needed an answer “why” and the response was “yes”.

Jamie xx appears to be communicating a more profound message here about the artist’s purpose and music more generally at present. There is a sincerity to In Waves. Jamie xx may not have all the answers, but he intuitively knows that feeling, rather than overthinking, our way forward may bring us closer to certain essential truths.

In Colour might have been more ambitious in its production, but In Waves is a no-nonsense, euphoric work, perfect for a sunny day or a dance inside a club.

While it’s unlikely to have the same impact as In Colour, as the next step in the development of an eternally unpredictable artist, it’s a rewarding and frequently electrifying listen.

In Waves hits the target far more often than it misses, and when it does miss, it’s not by far. It splits the difference between night in and out-out and winds up working in both contexts: a tricky line to walk, but one Jamie xx strolls confidently along.

Nearly a decade on, Jamie xx proves he still has the X factor. It was worth the wait.

In Waves partly mimics the jostle and heave of a crowded dancefloor. All You Children presses The Avalanches into euphoric service, matched for dynamism by Baddy On The Floor, a bend-and-snap collaboration with DJ Honey Dijon. [Nov 2024, p.85]

It’s a vibrant and genre-spanning collection, from the stripped-back piano house of opener “Wanna” via the UK garage flavour of “Waited All Night” (featuring xx bandmates Romy and Oliver Sim). Elsewhere, there are touches of R&B, disco, pop and electro-funk as the record unfurls with all the grace and flow of a masterful DJ set. [Oct 2024, p.43]

‘Life’ provides a pure pop moment of the most joyous kind. Enlisting the Swedish icon to soundtrack a moment of dancefloor euphoria is in itself a masterstroke, but the track’s looped hook possesses the kind of earwormy immediacy that brings to mind Y2K staples ‘Lady (Hear Me Tonight)’ from French duo Modjo and Spiller’s Sophie Ellis-Bextor featuring ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’.

Packed with meditative spoken-word vocals, this is an even more melancholic record than its predecessor – and a less immediately exciting one, too. But it’s arguably a more complex beast, born of a complex era yet authored by a musician with one eye on the simple, timeless pleasures of the club.

The thrill of radio mixes and DJ sets comes from a sense of discovery, the anticipation that comes when a transition starts and the next song queued up is anyone’s guess. Yet what In Colour lacks in cohesiveness is more than made up for in emotion and sincerity.

Tasteful and slick, approachable and antiperspirant, less oceanic ecstasy than the pool party of the year.

This is In Waves’s fatal flaw and greatest strength. It’s music that can’t help but hold on just a little too tight to ennui and cynicism, expressing the future a respite from the now in place of extending a flexible present.